The Pan American Development Foundation (PAD) the "arm" of development and humanitarian aid of the Organization of American States (OAS whose headquartered is in Washington, DC) celebrated its 50th years of partnership and service in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 30 years of commitment and collaboration in Haiti.

The U.S. Ambassador Pamela White and actor Jimmy Jean Louis, have both spoke at the event, which was attended by several government officials, including Jacques Rousseau, Minister of Public Works, Daniel Supplice, the Minister of Haitians Living abroad, of representatives of the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation, representatives of the Presidency and of the Primature, as well as foreign diplomats and representatives of the private sector.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador White, praised the dedication of the PADF in Haiti, explaining how "this commitment has made of the PADF, a partner of the U.S. government for the past 30 years." In addition, Jimmy Jean Louis, stressed the long road of the Foundation for the protection and promotion of human rights, and showed how PADF has always ensured that the most vulnerable have a voice.

The event, which was sponsored by Digicel, the Unibank and Citibank was held at the Hotel Karibe, and highlighted a number of achievements of the PADF during the past 30 years, including the planting of 65 million trees, the implementation of more than 1,000 community projects, and repair of more than 9,000 houses damaged by the earthquake of 2010.

Reginald Boulos, Member of the PADF, also talked about the future of the Foundation, by focusing on private companies and projects such as LEAD, who gave up to $200,000 in grants of counterparty, for Small and Medium Enterprises in Haiti.

HL/ HaitiLibre